40 Comments

ap duffy

Yum! I made double batch last night with handfuls of fresh herbs and it was out of this world, esp. after it sat in fridge a few hours. Put it over wedge salad with Great Hill Blue cheese, hard boiled egg, avocado and garden tomatoes. Saving the rest to try on your Corn Pasta Salad for the Labor Day Lobsterfest at the Brynnmere!!! Will let you know how it goes! Thanks Elise for another winner!!!

This is great! I had just churned a bunch of butter from yesterday’s milking and googled buttermilk ranch. It’s delicious. I wish I had fresh parsley, but at least everything else was on hand. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe! I’m always wanted to make my own ranch dressing and this recipe hit the spot! I added more mayonnaise to thicken the dressing and used fresh dill and garlic powder to add more flavor. It’s perfect to serve as a veggie dip too! =)

Mom forgot, that you can use this stuff with fish too. I like it with fish when tarragon and dill is used with lots of fresh parsley and some capers. If too thick, thin it with lemon and lime. Grate some peel in there too.
I like this on nachos with fresh chopped chilis and cilantro, pour on top of melted cheese. You can use in place of mayo in tuna, and I like it on plain pasta

I love to have buttermilk on hand, as it is very versitile and nutritious. Use it in cakes, bisquits, eggs, mashed potatoes,sauces,custards, marinades, pies, smoothies. If you want to thin out your dressings, consider lime or lemon juice (and other fruit juices to go with the other foods), milk,flavored vinegars halved with water or straight. I like mine dressing with chipotle Tabasco, my daughter likes it with regular Tabasco. My guys like it anyway they can get it. I have also made it with plain yogurt. Hubby likes my homemade mayonaisse with it. I like to use mostly buttermilk, but halve the mayo with low fat yogurt or sour cream. I have also made it with straight buttermilk, but it is thinner, but tastes great. For use with sandwiches and burgers, thicken it with the mayo and yogurt. I figure about 1T per sandwich, so I make a “master” blend with the buttermilk, and stir some in with the mayo/yogurt mix for the sandwiches. It is also good with deviled eggs with cayenne sprinkled on top.

I’m not quite sure why this didn’t work out for me, but mine was very gelatinous in consistency. Almost like thinner mayonnaise, and not very tasty at all. I’m not quite sure how you achieved such a thin consistency, as buttermilk and mayo are pretty thick, but I’d love to know if you or anyone else has any suggestions. I’m willing to try again!

I have been wanting to make my own ranch dressing for ever, and I’m so glad I stumbled upon this recipe! I did 1/3 buttermilk, 1/3 mayo, and 1/3 sour cream, and may actually eliminate the mayo because we’re not really big fans. When I tried it, it felt like there was something missing, so I tossed in a splash of Worcestershire and voila! It’s perfect! I will definitely be adding this to my repertoire.

The first time I tried it out, I followed the recipe exactly. However, we found that we did not like the taste of the paprika. I make it with lowfat buttermilk and lowfat mayo – it is fantastic every time. Thank you for another great recipe!

I would like to try this recipe with lowfat (or skim) buttermilk and some substitute for the mayo. Any suggestions for a mayo sub? Yogurt? Sour cream?

One thing I’ve done in the past for yogurt based dressings is to use fat free yogurt and sub in a table spoon of olive oil. Fat free yogurt and sour cream both seem to take take oil very well. I wonder if one of them, “oiled-up” would work here as a mayo sub.

I love this! So fresh and tasty. I rarely have buttermilk on hand or want to purchase a large container that would probably go bad, so I usually make my own too, 1 C milk to 1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar. I use 1% milk too and it still works. I just used it in a bread I made.

Could this dressing be turned into a dip? Perhaps by adding some sour cream? I don’t often make salads but I do enjoy having cut up veggies ready in the fridge for easy snacking and I would love to use this recipe for both dressing and a dip by keeping half of it runny for the dressing and thicker for a dip.

I started using the ranch type dressing 45-50 years ago called Uncle Dan’s. Long before I ever saw Hidden Valley products. It has alaways been a favorite dressing of ours. This recipe is great. a little different but so good. I also like to use a variety of herbs at different times. Fresh lemon thyme makes a lovely addition.

I wonder if this would still taste okay without the dill and mustard powder. hmm…

It’s to taste. So, just skip it if you don’t want the dill or mustard. You could also add garlic and/or Worcestershire sauce. The base is just buttermilk and mayo, so beyond that truly anything goes. ~Elise

@ Martha Kaye: Thanks for the tip! I was all prepared to keep buttermilk on hand, then when I bought some, I had a really bad week and couldn’t do much baking. Tossed it with a deep frown.

Though I rarely even have whole milk on hand, at least that won’t go bad as fast as my last half gallon of buttermilk! If I don’t get to using it, I can have the kids make some pudding or shakes with it!

@ Lydia: I’ve never seen powdered buttermilk! Where would you suggest I look? Thanks!

I’m another long-time Ranch lover. I got my original recipe from a restaurant in Mesa, AZ in 1972. I can’t remember which one, but it might have been Reuben’s. Anyway, my recipe calls for grated fresh parm, as well as a bit of Worcestershire, a touch of lemon zest and sour cream ON TOP of the buttermilk and mayo. It too specified garlic powder, as well as fresh herbs. I have switched from mayo to low-fat Greek yogurt, which I like even better, and of course low-fat sour cream. My daughter was just old enough to begin eating salad when I got this recipe, and she began licking the dressing from the salad leaves and only eating the dressing. I had to start chopping hers up small, then thoroughly blending in the dressing so she would actually consume the veggies. She is now in her 30s, and makes it herself…she’s still ‘addicted’ to it.

The idea of instant buttermilk is a wonderful idea; however, if you do not have that on hand, a tip from the 50’s. You can use your whole milk to make buttermilk by adding to 1/2 cup of whole milk either one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice…wait a while and you have your ingredient. I hope this helps because I know how it is to need a small amount of buttermilk when preparing a recipe.

OMG, I used to make this all the time in college. This recipe is a ride on the way-back machine for me. Nothing better than homemade ranch! If we didn’t have buttermilk, we would throw some lemon juice into milk and let it sit for a while.

It’s funny no matter what form I still love it. Only now I make it with 1/3 yogurt, 1/3 buttermilk, 1/3 mayonaise. Cause of my husband and all his medical needs requires less calories, fats, you know. But I still love it even this way for forty years, my love affair with ranch still strong. Thanks, Kathy Cantrell ps. Like the chipolte idea.

Thanks for sharing so many wonderful food recipes. I’m a regular reader of yours now for at least a year and enjoy every post you take time to share. I’ve been making homemade ranch dressing since being married. Luckily, the Betty Crocker wedding cookbook we got as a gift had a good basic recipe for one. We changed it to our liking, mainly adding 50/50 mayonnaise and sour cream and granulated garlic instead of fresh (the fresh was a little too overpowering). I love your idea of adding dill.

This is definitely a time to use some of the powdered buttermilk from your pantry, too. Each packet makes one cup of buttermilk — just the right amount!

Powdered buttermilk? That’s new to me! What a brilliant idea. So many recipes call for buttermilk and I always have to make a run to the store. Thanks Lydia, as usual, you are a treasure trove of great advice. ~Elise